The Blog Squad is being interviewed Friday February 20, 2009 on Blog Talk Radio by Paul Chaney, User Friendly Thinking show on how small businesses can use simple, often free tools to grow business, even in the midst of a difficult economy.
Call-in Number: (347) 215-7248
Upcoming Show: 2/20/2009 10:00 AM ET
Host Name: UserFriendlyThinking
Show Name: Attract. Sell. Profit. Simple Tools and Tactics to Grow Your Business Online
Length: 1 hr
Are you using a Kindle for reading books yet? The 2nd generation just came out and it's getting rave reviews.
I
use my Kindle all the time now. It took me a couple of months to get
used to it, and then I was only using it for trips. Instead of lugging
the two or three books I read at one time with me on the plane, the
slim and light electronic book reading devise is convenient and easy.
Now I use it all the time. For one thing, the Mexican postal service charges duty for books when they are delivered here. The Kindle avoids delivery problems and extra costs.
Books
downloaded to Kindle only cost around $10 and are delivered instantaneously. I love that
because I spend way too much on books and am impatient to get them
delivered. Plus, I couldn't possibly have enough book shelves to keep
all the books I buy and read, so many end up being donated.
Problem solved with the Kindle. And the new version is slightly cheaper, but at $359 it's still a chunk of change. But if you read more than a couple of books a month, then the savings will more than make up for the extra cost.
The
reason I'm writing this is not to sell some Kindles and collect a few
dollars of Amazon associates commission (although that would be a good
way to support my addiction ;-))…
If you're an author, I think you need to pay attention to innovative ways books are being read and published.
The Future of Books?
I want you to go read Bob Sutton's post Is the Kindle a Disruptive Innovation? If You Ran a Large Publishing House What Would You Do?
As
usual, Bob Sutton stimulates me to think deeply about what we take for
granted and he raises good questions. How will book publishing be
different in the future?
How will authors adapt and survive, or better yet, how will they stay ahead of the curve?
I'm immersing myself in a slew of Amazon Kindle books on decision-making that I recently downloaded:
Apparently, it doesn't matter what field you're in, everyone wants to know how come smart people make dumb decisions. To help, some very smart authors reveal the interplay between instincts, emotions, and our rational logical brains. These authors are very astute in translating the brain research along with fascinating stories.
Recently we've seen plenty of irrational behavior, whether in politics or the world of finance. And in these times of uncertainty, it's harder for everyone to make decisions. None of us can rationally predict just how hard hit we will be.
It's hard for me to express all the ways and reasons I'm in love with blogging. Denise did a fine list over on our Build a Better Blog. Andy Wibbels posts a great read over on Typepad's blog.
Like a good husband, you might not always treat your blog right, but you always come back to it. Here are a few of my reasons why:
I would like to reprint some gems of Andy Wibbels' post here, just in case you don't click the link and read his entire worthwhile post over on Typepad…
I really like using Alltop.com to find blogs in niches. But recently I discovered a different category through their aggregated lists of top blogs… personalities, or as they call them, Egos!
I have no idea what their requirement is to get listed as an Ego blog, but looking at the individuals who are included, I'd say these are all big names in the Blogosphere and they have big readership followings.
Heck, some even have big heads, but for sure, they all write with larger than life personalities.
It's worth studying their blogs to learn the ways they write and include their personalities. These blogs are completely different, in various fields of expertise. But they are all strong personalities.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Folks, I could go on and on, but you make your own list of great blogs to read so you get the kind of inspiration you need for writing better blogs and newsletters. I didn't put on my list the more famous people in this category, people like Seth Godin, Donald Trump, Mark Cuban, Robert Scoble. They are also excellent.
These people all know how to write well, adding their authentic personalities into their posts. I believe we all have it in us to write just as well, if we study people who do it and do what they do, only in a way is true to our own styles, remaining authentic.
This is gutsy but good. How do you find your unique "voice" for writing your e-newsletter or blog posts? How do you capture and include personality into your content?
I was poking around the E-Newsletter Success membership site and found this great exercise journal. The document is designed to help professionals write in a way that is unique, personal and compelling. In other words, NOT boring…
Maybe this is the secret sauce to why Michael Katz's E-Newsletter on E-Newsletters is such a raving success. Michael always tells a personal story, usually with humor, and then ties it into a relevant, useful tip.
Anyone can do this. The trick is to do it with personality and flair. Wait a minute, though. What the heck is that? …And how do you elicit your own personality in your writing? How do you write about yourself without being egocentric or boring?
Here's the gutsy exercise: write an email to 10 people who know you well and ask them to describe you with the first 3 words that come to mind.
Terri Z Interviews The Blog Squad in a teleseminar Thursday February 5, at 1 p.m. ET.
Boost Your Business with a Blog: It's Not an Option Anymore
If you want to learn how to build a professional blog that turns readers into clients, this free class is for you. Registration is required, however, and to do that you need to go to this page: The Blog Squad Teleseminars.
Launch a Profitable E-Newsletter with E-Newsletter Success
I haven't been this excited about ezines since blogs burst on the scene. I still believe in the power of sending out a regular, well-crafted e-newsletter for your business.
It's just that email deliverability issues and the time to put one together…you know what I'm talking about…unless you know what you're doing, an emailed newsletter can cost you time and worry.
You can just STOP thinking like that. This is the swift solution to learning quickly and inexpensively everything you need to know to craft an ezine that works, that brings in business and makes money for you. This is pain-free, folks.
I'm a huge fan of Michael Katz of Blue Penquin Development. You've heard me gush about his clever writing before: His E-Newsletter on E-Newsletters is a first class production. If nothing else, if you just copied what he does, you'd have a spectacular ezine.
Yesterday Michael announced he's teamed up with Chad Board. They've just launched their E-Newsletter Success training membership program.
If you're thinking about starting an ezine to grow your business, start here. If you're thinking about abandoning yours, don't do it. Learn what you need to know and turn your e-newsletter into a profit machine.
Two great posts to read for blog authors who are procrastinators or perfectionists:
Speed Blogging: How to Write Better Posts in Less Time by Mara Rogers who gives four guidelines for procrastinators: "Just write and commit. Click on “Publish.” And then start writing your next post."
But if you know your writing could use a little forethought and editing work, then don't miss this post by Sonia Simone, Slow Blogging:
"I try to write a post two days before I want to post it. Over those next two days, I’ll read the post with fresh eyes each day and make changes. I do a last pass when I’m prepping it to post."
I agree with both. Many clients I work with are overly concerned with their writing and delay publishing because of unwarranted fears. They miss the opportunity to improve their writing because they simply aren't doing enough of it.
And I truly believe that re-reading and editing most stuff can only improve it. I strive to make at least one in-depth original post once a week and will take several days to edit it before publishing. What about you?
Something somewhere had gone dramatically wrong…somehow I'd been feeling left out of the loop all week. I was missing something but what? I hadn't posted in days and my writing felt limp…
Suddenly I woke at 3 a.m. I went straight to my computer. I logged onto the Internet. Then it hit me…
My 'MyYahoo' page wasn't there! Instead I got a generic page…missing were all my favorite blog feeds. No Copyblogger, no Junta42 blog, no 800CEORead, no RemarkableCommunication.
No wonder I felt so uninspired and totally ignorant. How could I let that happen?
As some of you know, we moved back to Ajijic, Mexico two weeks ago. I'm still unpacking boxes. And even though our computers and TVs and phones are all miraculously high-speed and wired-up, some details didn't get finished properly.
I use MyYahoo to feed all my favorite blog content so I can stay current with what's going on in Content Marketing (and tennis, and the rest of the world!) Without it, I kept having to go to each site to find out what's being said.
If you're not using a feed reader such as MyYahoo, Google Reader, Newsgator, or such, then you're not alone. There are estimates that say 85% of Web users don't use RSS feeds. And yet it's simple and easy to set up. I'm lost without it.
I also get email updates of blog content either through Feedburner or Feedblitz, but I like seeing blog updates on MyYahoo page in the morning. What about you? What do you use to stay informed?
Related posts: BuildaBetterBlog.com on RSS
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